Angel
by metalguru
Summary: She was his best friend. Now she returns as his greatest enemy.
1. Chapter 1

The Dark Lord Aku walked down the center of the cathedral's aisle, past the many statues and monuments, once a credit to the creativity and faith of the human race, now twisted and deformed into hideous shapes and visages. To his sides, the pews were filled with pilgrims, kneeling and crying out for their god to deliver them from Aku's suffering. Most of them were so horrified at the inside of the demonic church that they had clawed their eyes out, and they cried blood.

This church had once been a beacon of light and hope in a dark and dangerous world. It had stood the test of time, weathered empire and tyrant, all in the name of a man who called himself the son of God. During the War of Ascension, when the governments of the world capitulated quickly before the onslaught of darkness, faith was the one rampart the master could not scale. They chose to die rather than surrender. He obliged them.

Now the cathedral had been shattered and rebuilt into Aku's dark image. Monstrous creatures roamed the mighty hallways; disgusting abominations festered in the darkness. But the faith remained, and the faithful continued their cries. They bored the dark lord, so he no longer paid them any attention.

His concerns were elsewhere. The Samurai had been most busy. Dissension was spreading, Jack's example was reaching the masses. Reports came in every day of raids on bases in the highlands, uprisings in the major cities, and traitors even amongst his ranks. Demongo had been useless; Sin had turned. The people were growing bolder, and the ultimate plan had not yet reached fruition.

The ultimate solution… that plan which he had masterminded centuries ago, the one which would give him the power to enact his revenge: to rip the universe to shreds. Reaching directly underneath the mighty dome of the cathedral, Aku looked straight up to the highest reaches. Up there, it was growing. Every day it fed on the souls of these stupid pilgrims. Soon, very soon, she would be born. It was for her that he had remained so long on this forsaken planet. Her strength would eclipse Hera herself. She was…what was it the pilgrims called it? Oh yes. The Anti-Christ. The one who would make war upon heaven, fated to lead the darkness across the universe. Fitting.

But this was not why Aku had come to the Cathedral of the Damned. The Samurai approached ever closer, his allies gained in number every day, and his strength grew exponentially with every battle. Not one man, beast, or machine could face him with even a glimmer of hope for victory. Aku had no one left. Only he was left to face the Samurai, a battle where the outcome was uncertain. And Aku was not foolish enough to go into a battle he was not sure of winning, whether by overwhelming strength or deception. He would have to send someone else.

And this was the reason why he had come to the cathedral.

For underneath the altar of the church lay his most powerful creation, one so dangerous even the master of darkness feared it. He feared it because he had created it so well. He feared it because of what he had done to it. He feared what it was capable of.

For hidden blasphemously underneath the altar was his own personal Angel of Death.

Ages ago, the Samurai come but one blow away from securing ever-lasting peace. One blow and Aku, the demon who sundered Olympus and Valhalla, the creature who killed Hera herself, would have been defeated by a simple man. A truly disappointing end when he had such high ambitions.

He knew that the Samurai would return, one day far in the future. The Samurai had twenty years to prepare. Aku had centuries, but not one day could be wasted if he even hoped to match the Samurai.

But Aku could not find one warrior with the capacity of achieving the same levels as his hated enemy. No man could possibly match the Samurai not only in ferocity and strength, but also intelligence and cunning. No man could…but then Aku discovered he wasn't searching for a man. For this task, for the role of defeating his hated enemy, fell to a woman.

From the slave pits, Aku's servants brought forth a girl, one year younger than the Samurai, but every bit as physically and mentally capable as her counterpart. Even more fortunate, she had known the Prince personally. Aku learned that before his attack, the Prince was to be married off to a Princess from the continent, more for political reasons than any sense of what humans called "love." This arrangement caused a swirl of emotions inside the girl, emotions which Aku was most adept at exploiting to their fullest.

He brought her away from the pits, and began training her, not only as a warrior and assassin, but as a scholar and a diplomat. She grew into a powerful woman and the harbinger of Aku's will.

While he slowly regained his power in anticipation of his glorious triumph, she traveled the world skillfully manipulating the various powers of the world. When the age of nightmares came upon the world, in the second war she used the samurai nation's alliance with the werewolfes during the first war as a pretext to steal the wolfes greatest secret, the sun bomb. She gave the sun bomb to the mongrels, who used it to finally destroy the samurai once and for all. In gratitude, the world made peace and alliance with Aku, the "protector of all nations." Aku used his newfound anonymity to gather resources, weapons, and the latest technologies. And then the day came when the protector turned on his charges. On that day began the War of Ascension.

Humanity, despite its weaknesses, in that final moment proved that it would not go gently into the good night. As the armies of darkness marched across the land, humanity fought back tooth and nail. They were prepared to not go down without a fight. Unfortunately, they were not prepared for the Angel of Death.

She single-handedly broke the back of humanity.

Now ruling unopposed, Aku grew complacent. What need did he have of his greatest servant anymore, especially when feelings of revenge still burned in her soul? He had seen how she would cry for those she killed, and sometimes showed mercy, especially to young children. There was also a more personal vendetta; she was the last samurai.

What use did he have of her now? How could the Samurai, strong as he was, possibly hope to defeat overwhelming forces and mind-blowing technology?

She was nothing more than a toy now. And like an irresponsible child, when one mistreats its toys, they break. Now, she was mindless, an empty shell without any remnants of the intelligence or humanity she displayed before the war.

Aku reached the altar. He turned to the aisle behind him, where a seven-foot tall lanky kaijin walked through the pews much more gracefully than would be believed for what upon first glance many called a monster. In his hands he carried a black sword. On his back were draped two massive carving knives of a size so large only he could possibly use them.

"Come, Guru-Kumo," Aku said to the creature. Guru-Kumo ascended the stairs to the altar and handed the sword to his master.

"It willll be gooddd to ssssee the missstresss once againnn. I have writteennn herr a poemmm." The monster spoke clearly and with annunciation. Despite his uses, Aku was constantly annoyed by this creature. He had been raised from birth by the Angel, and she had taught him much about humans. He always quoted human literature, and sometimes acted as if he was a human.

Aku lifted the sword into the air. Behind the altar was a giant cross that had fallen on its side. For some reason it had turned red. A wicked smile appeared across Aku's lips. He began carving words into the cross. When he had finished, he stepped back to look at his work.

Children of a false god. That's what he wrote. It was time.

Aku pointed the tip of the sword straight towards the altar.

"Now, just as you sundered the world before, it has come time to destroy all that opposes me once more. Come forward now! Come forth, my Angel of Death!"

Aku plunged the sword into the altar.

Nothing happened.

"Hm?" was all Aku could muster.

Then, the floor began to shake, a mere tremor at first, then growing until the entire foundation seemed as if it was to fall apart in an instant. The stones below the altar bulged outward, with something pushing against them on the other side. The altar blasted apart and stone rained down upon the spectators.

From below the altar raised a cross in the shape of a X. Strange symbols covered the cross and the person attached to it. Heavily chained to the cross was a woman, her long dark hair touching almost to the ground. Green bangs jetted out from her right forehead, but otherwise her hair was jet black. On her chest was the mark of Aku, black and unholy for all to see.

With a flick of his wrist, the chains retracted and the woman fell to the floor. Her eyes had remained closed and she had not responded during this entire series of events.

Guru-Kumo almost charged forward, but restrained himself. "Missstresss?"

Aku reached down and gently lifted the woman's head. Her eyes opened slowly.

"Time to awaken, my dear," Aku said. "You don't want to be late for your own wedding."

Samurai Jack walked through the city, once a city of contrasts, where ancient met modern. Paradox ally, it was the ancient parts that were better off than the modern. But this was no time for sightseeing.

The Dark Cathedral was the last bastion of Aku's strength in the world. He had nowhere else to run.

Entering the mighty square outside the Cathedral, Jack viewed the many statues, once the faces of Saints and the pious, now made into the likeness of demons. The Cathedral itself was the color of blood.

The massive doors leading into the Cathedral, tipped with spikes and frescoes of the most unimaginable evils the world had ever seen, slowly opened as the Samurai approached.

They were expecting him.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack entered the Cathedral carefully. The massive entranceway was covered in hardwood floors and the Cathedral was actually well-lit. He walked to the center of the crucifix formed building. A strange melody, a dancing tune that resembled some of the music he had heard in the courts of Europe, filled the air. As his eyes adjusted to the mellow light, it was then that he realized someone was waiting for him at the altar.

Standing in front of him was a woman with long jet black hair and emerald eyes. She wore a simple wedding dress, except it was completely black, with red ribbons tied around her. She held roses in her hand. On her chest was a large black scar.

She slowly walked down the pulpit and into the aisle, approaching the area where Jack stood. Jack's right hand moved instinctively to his sword, but hesitated. He couldn't understand this strange feeling in his mind – that he had seen this woman somewhere before.

Before Jack could change his mind, she was standing right in front of him. She held out her hand as if to ask him to dance.

"Do-do I know you?" he said to her.

She nodded her head, then smiled a goofy little smile. Approaching very close to Jack, she leaned forward and gave him a small kiss on his cheek.

Jack's mind flashed back to the days of his childhood: hunting for grasshoppers in the meadow, fishing in the river, playing ball – and that one girl, his dearest friend, his first kiss; his first love.

"It's you. But how…?"

Another voice filled the cathedral, the voice of a seductive woman.

"How selfish, samurai. You couldn't even give her one dance. Even after she's waited for you for centuries."

From Jack's left, a long, sultry leg stepped out from behind one of the pillars. The leg connected to the body of a very curvaceous woman wearing a form-fitting black dress that looked like it was part of her body, the perfect woman in every way – except that her skin was green.

"Your gender-bending trick does not fool me, Aku," Jack spoke to her, "or have you decided to live as Ikra?"

Aku/Ikra chuckled. "Well samurai, I see you finally gained a sense of humor! Now you can't say your trip to the future was a total waste."

"Enough!" Jack roared. "What is your plan this time? What is your plan?"

Ikra walked behind the girl and wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders, rubbing her head in the girl's raven-hair.

"She's my little Angel of Death, samurai." Ikra brushed her hand against the girl's cheek. "Death doesn't seem so bad when it has such a pretty face."

Samurai Jack's face tightened in anger. The Angel's face, once vibrant and alive, now looked vacant and submissive, more like a doll than a human being.

"It's quite simple really," Ikra continued, "You were trained to kill me, so I trained her to kill you. Not just as a warrior, but as a cunning leader. It took me centuries to accomplish, BUT I DID IT! You should have seen her, Samurai. Just like a mother, she took the world and its people upon her bosom, protected them, and nurtured them, unaware that she was preparing them for sacrifice to me."

"She would never-"

Ikra interrupted. "You didn't let me finish. She was so cunning, she even fooled me. At the moment of my victory, she turned against me…and failed. I could not let this go unpunished."

One of Ikra's fingers extended into a long blade. With a swish, she cut down the length of Angel's dress, slashing it so that it could no longer hold on. The dress fell to the ground, leaving the angel naked. Jack of course covered his eyes, his cheeks flushed red.

"Oh don't be so modest samurai. You can look."

Jack dropped his hand from his gaze. Ikra had turned Angel so her back was to Jack and her modesty was covered with a black robe. However, Jack was horrified at what he saw.

Her back was covered with scars, scars from blades, bullets, burns, and others from sources that Jack could only describe as supernatural.

"Monster…"

Ikra began rubbing Angel's back.

"She is quite beautiful. I didn't want to damage her too much and disrupt your pleasure."

"What?"

Ikra pushed her forward into Jack's arms.

"Go ahead. She's all yours."

Jack pushed her away.

"Stop your games!"

"What's wrong?" Ikra's smile stretched from ear to ear. Her face began morphing, her lips grew wider and greener, and her eyes started to blaze like fires. "You are a man, aren't you? And all men have certain needs. I'm just fulfilling yours."

Jack needed no more words. He drew his sword.

"Die Monster."

Ikra's face now morphed completely into a much more familiar one – Aku. "Know this – I could have had you killed at any time. Why do you think I let you live? Because I wanted you. I wanted your strength, your power. But most of all, I want a child. Imagine it: my greatest enemy and my Angel of Death, united as one. It would be my herald, the creature that would bring about the end of all."

"YAHHHH!" Jack charged forward at his enemy and swung it with the intent of destroying him once and for all.

CLANG!

Jack's sword was blocked by the Angel. Her own sword was long and every equivalent to Jack's own sword. Now, Jack saw that the scar on her chest wasn't simply a scar. It was jet black and in the shape of Aku. From the scar poured out the same liquid that made up Aku. It wrapped around her body, creating a black Oriental dress that ended at the shoulders and cut at the waist with a long loincloth that dipped low. At the point of the scar, a teardrop formed in the dress.

Jack pushed off Angel and dropped back into a defensive position.

"You're going to fight me now?!?"

She nodded.

"Then show me no quarter, for I'll show you none."


End file.
